This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Re "County tax increase needed" (Opinion, Nov. 17):

Five years ago, when I was chair of the South Salt Lake City Council, we went through a similar tight fiscal period that Salt Lake County is going through now. Revenues dropped for a number years and we coped by cutting costs and jobs, just as the county has.

Then the Legislature made matters worse by passing a bill to redistribute one-third of our sales tax revenues to other cities. To address the revenue shortfall, I led the council's effort to raise property taxes by about $10 to $12 per month for the average homeowner.

Was it a popular decision? No. Was it distasteful? Yes. Was it for the public good? In my judgment, it was necessary to preserve essential services.

One reason I lost my next election was because of this tax increase. Sometimes we have to suffer distasteful things to have a government that is truly of, by, and, most important, for the people.